1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to interactive automated dialing systems, and more particularly to an interactive dialing system that is useful to first randomly select and thereafter communicate with a selected number of persons that may be a part of a viewing audience of a broadcast event.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mass marketing by way of the telephone network is now an accepted practice engaged with some frequency. Its prevalence has become notorious for the bothersome interruptions of an evening by xe2x80x9csalesmenxe2x80x9d making xe2x80x9ccold-calls,xe2x80x9d automatic dialing machines indiscriminately sending messages about things that are wholly uninteresting to the recipient, and other similar offensive traits. The offending nature of these calls has risen to such dimensions that legislative regulations are now in place virtually everyplace. At the core is the unfocused nature of the first sales call. It generally has nothing to do with the events that are of current interest to the recipient and is therefore perceived as nothing more than a nuisance.
At the same time various televised game shows, contests, and other gaming events have acquired extensive followings, particularly because of the matter displayed that is of wide common interest and general familiarity. The nature of the televised game shows is particularly compelling to the general public and inherently invites participation by the viewer. Because the subject matter of these televised contests is focused on the fringes of unspecialized trivial knowledge there is a large gaming component that suggests the possibility of a windfall to every viewer. The fully democratic aspect of trivia as the mechanism for a game of chance has been well appreciated. Also well appreciated have been the democratic aspects of other recent contest or competition shows that select participants from the public at large. Because of the perceived general accessibility and the chance of a win these shows have acquired immense viewer followings.
While various automated telephone arrangements and techniques are now available these have are not been used as effectively by the mass marketers as the attention garnering techniques associated with audience participation shows. Of course, public rejection of the mass marketer and annoyance over his phone calls then followed. Moreover, these same successful game shows now occupy a majority of the public attention which is so rudely interrupted by the mass marketer""s call. Thus while the immense popularity of the game show has induced substantial desires for interactive participation by the viewing audience, these desires remain generally unattended. Like two ships at night two symmetrical endeavors are now proceeding in parallel, both inadvertently interfering with each other.
In each instance the threshold obstacle is the identification scheme that one needs to implement in order to properly manage any interactive system. For the purposes of a game show one may want to identify, and omit, xe2x80x98ringersxe2x80x99 from the ranks of potential contenders while the mass marketer may want to know all about his potential customer before making the call. Both, therefore, require substantial detail in the knowledge of the person called. Accordingly, a symbiosis is clearly suggested.
In the past various techniques were devised which in one way or another assure accurate identification. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,272 to Good et al. speaks of an interactive information distribution system in which, however, identifiers like a personal identification number (PIN) needs to be assigned to each participant. Alternatively, as suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,142 to Wolfe, et al., the interactive exchange is confined to a computer network system such as the Internet, and then encoded for limited access, and so on. Generally, each of the prior art interactive systems in one manner or another focuses on the system details that may be required but not on the willingness of the participant to shed his or her cloak of privacy.
In all marketing efforts the selection of the targeted consumer profile is of primary significance. Simply, substantial efficiencies can be gained if the consumer preference is specified and substantial efforts have been expended in the past in attempts at refining all sorts of lists of prospective purchasers to which any particular marketing piece may be directed. At the core is the creation of this marketing list and the annoying phone call is simply one mechanism by which such lists are currently generated.
The annoyance of this generation process has produced the general resistance to any subsequent message, particularly since the phone calls come during the favorite televised game show. Accordingly a technique that synergistically combines both aspects of the proposed symbiosis is extensively sought and it is one such technique that is described herein.
Accordingly it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to include a sales call in a solicitation to participate in a televised game show, thereby inducing willing participation by the consumer.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a technique for effecting sales calls in which the response of the recipient is stored as a voice print for future use in the course of participation in a television game show.
Yet further objects of the invention are to provide an interactive communication system by which remote viewers of a television program can participate in the course thereof.
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by way of a process in which a list of willing participants in various televised game shows and other gaming events is accumulated, and thereafter sorted for demographics, interest focus and other characteristics. To insure that the participant is unambiguously identified and to determine that the participant is: (a) not related to the game production staff; (b) not specially and unfairly trained for any one of the game shows or events; and (c) not otherwise unfairly advantaged, the accumulation process extends to substantial detail. As a part of this interview process the candidate""s voice print is available and may be stored along with other positively identifying data.
Once thus sorted the members of a selected subset may be further interrogated about their interest to participate in a televised game show, the interrogation process then revealing to these potential participants the fair assessment of the probabilities of their selection at any given time, and the requirement that they each view the particular game show in proximity to a telephone or that they each be near a telephone in a specific period of time when the selection for a gaming event is made. When the pool of candidates is collected a random number generator assisted selection process is invoked to select from the pool those that will be participating in the event. Accordingly, each marketing call is associated with some statistical probability of participation in a contest with the prospect of a windfall that then may follow.
The foregoing interrogation process can be fully automated, further removing the bases for inhibition. Thus a prerecorded message may first announce to the recipient of the phone call that he or she has been selected into the pool of potential participants of a televised game show, followed by the disclosures that may be required which advise the recipient of the probabilities, the potential winning pool, and any other details. Thereafter the recipient of the automatic phone call may be requested to acknowledge his willingness to participate, by way of a voice response and by pressing one or more of the keys of the telephone set, and once this acquiescence is acknowledged the verification process may compare the voice response with the participation candidate""s earlier voice print or may start accumulating new voice data for a further voice print. This voice print pattern associated with the number called can then be stored along with any demographic, sociological, or other data.
This pool of potential participation candidates shall, of necessity, become a fairly predictable audience of the game show or event for which they were selected. Accordingly, a symbiotic exchange is provided where the show or event provides the common interest nexus for the sales call and the sales call, in turn, promotes the show or event. Once the lists are collected further demographic and/or societal targeting of the common interests in this pool can be refined. In this manner the character of the game show along with the advertising matter that accompanies such a show can be appropriately selected both for increased interested and also for increased effectiveness. Accordingly, by this method, cost effectiveness of the marketing and the game or event production is optimized. More importantly, the architecture of this inventive communication system is useful both in the course of accumulating the participation candidate pool and also in the subsequent interactive participation by those participants that have been selected.